The Witch Doctor
by TicciToby334
Summary: Jaune Arc, from a young age, was fascinated with magic and the such. So, when he was seven, he found a book written by a man named Mal'Damba, who claimed he was not of Remnant. Jaune read and practiced his magic, gaining the attention of Mal'Damba's patron goddess, Wekono, and gained her blessing. A very different Jaune then goes to Beacon at seventeen.
1. Mal'Damba's Tome

It was a peaceful day in the Arc household. Nothing too strange going on. Well, stranger than usual. Jaune Arc, the only male of eight female children of the Arc family, was in the library. He was looking for books on magic, as he had found some videos of magic tricks and was convinced they were real.

Finally, he found a book, which seemed to call out to him. It was an old tome, worn and torn at the bindings with the papers yellower than old parchment, though they were stronger than the other papers. The tome itself was a dark brown, large and very thick.

Opening it, he saw a warning. It was obviously a warning, even though he could barely understand what it said, because of all the exclamation points, bold lettering, italics, and caps, even though that it was completely hand-written.

He would have to learn this strange language.

* * *

After months of translating, Jaune had finally translated the massive tome. Inside was what he hoped for and more.

It was a biography of a man named Mal'Damba. He was a voodoo man, who was great at what he did. He had plenty of experience, defending the Realms from the Magistrate. It was amazing, reading about the encounters he had. Jaune had decided that he wanted to be just like this man, even though he was going to do what was considered dark or evil.

He wanted to be good, protecting others with his magic.

So, he started working on making the perfect outfit and getting a familiar.


	2. Of Armor, Runes and Prayers

Jaune sighed as he wiped his brow. He had been at this for months after he had found and translated the book, in his little shed, off to the side of the family estate, carefully crafting each and every item he needs in order to make the right clothing. And he had finally finished the outfit.

He had found some very old - yet sturdy - wood, from an old, sacred tree that had fallen a while ago. He had found some glass, that he had stained and shaped to fit his needs. He had found some orange feathers and cloth, dark grey and two different shades of brown cloth, as well as brown leathers and white rope.

The mask he made fit him perfectly, with it having two orange pieces of glasses, which were cut similarly to a serpents, that fit perfectly into the holes of the same shape on the mask. The mask spread outwards in long 'branches' on either side of the head, looking similar to a King Taijutsu's hood if it were a wooden White Fang mask, it getting darker towards the ends until it becomes black. In the mask's forehead was a slightly elevated piece, diamond like in shape, with a smaller purple shaped glass inside as well. On the back, sticking upwards, were three large feathers, each dark orange towards the base, before lightening up to yellow. All on the inside and outside of the mask, Jaune had carved runes and used his Aura to power them after infusing them with the limited magic he had learned, protecting him even more from attacks, making the mask durable, letting it grow with him, and keeping him cool or warm, depending on the area he is in.

His cloak was primarily dark brown, with some light brown designs on both of his sleeves and around the collar. On the top of his cloak was a orange and brown cloth that draped over his shoulders, kinda like an cloth, half-tunic, as it went down to around his rib cage. In the middle of it was a purple piece of glass, much like the one on his mask only slightly bigger. There were some visible stitches keeping it together, but that only added to the slightly rugged Witch Doctor look. The ends of his cloak was designed in orange as well, with some bits of rope hanging off the edge in decoration. Around his waist, as if acting like a belt, was a long piece of rope with the knot of it being colored orange. It holds a large bottle of some type. Around his right wrist would be two bangles, one being large and brown, while the other is thin and beige. Like his mask, they had the same runes and magic in them.

His pants were rather large, nothing too special about them. They were dark grey, with rope wrapped around the ends which keep them close to the legs. They ended just below the knee, though, as if something ripped off the sleeves. And, on his feet, were the same color of cloth, as if acting like make-shift sandals, with some more rope wrapped around them. Again, enchanted with the same runes.

He sighed in his slightly raspy, gruff voice. It had taken a while, and, after many failed attempts and explosions - which caused his skin to darken to a slightly grey-ish color and voice to become as if a snake is talking - but he had completed Mal'Damba's garbs perfectly. (Think Mal'Damba's Cursed skin)

* * *

Months passed since he had made the outfit. The only problem is that he needed a familiar. He had all the magic, all of the poisons and potions, but no familiar. Mal'Damba never even mentioned how he had gotten his. So, one night, he had prayed to the goddess, Wekono, to grant him one so he can be like the greatest one of her chosen few, in hopes she would grant him one.

And she listened.


	3. Familiars and Wekono's Chosen

The next morning, Jaune woke up to the feeling of a weight on his chest. He furrowed his brow, before trying to go back to sleep. That is, until he heard the soft hiss of a reptile and the flicker of it's tongue, the wind moving in front of his face as it tasted the air in front of him.

He slowly opened his eyes, darker than the depths of the oceans, to see a dark orange cobra with purple eyes and a beige belly, green tongue flickering out every once in a while while it's hood was expanded, it swaying from side to side a bit in a sort of hypnotic dance.

He blinked a bit before speaking in his raspy, slow voice. "Are you one of… Wekono's? Sent to me?" It seemed to have nodded, still swaying. It then lifted it's tail, a note tied gingerly to the end.

Taking it off carefully, Jaune read the note.

* * *

It read;

'Dear Jaune,

It has been a long time since someone had prayed to me. A bit longer since I have chosen or heard about my champions. And longer still since someone asked me to be one.

So, I must ask; what do you hope to accomplish with these abilities and my title? Fame? Glory? Money?

You do not need to tell me, for I already know. You want it so you can just revel in the fact that you're like you're role model - even though you never met him - and you can do magic. You want it to protect the normals around you, protect the citizens of your world from the beasts.

And, because of that, not only am I giving you a familiar - the same one I had given my last champion - but I am going to give you all Mal'Damba had and more.

Yours Truly, Wekono'

* * *

Jaune sat their with shock written all over his permanant soot covered face. He felt different, that was for sure. He felt stronger, faster, smarter. He felt as if magic was coursing through his veins instead of blood.

He looked to his new familiar, as his mother called him down to breakfast, and decided to name him off of a book he had found in the local library about myths on supposedly inhabited worlds.

"Ready to go, Apophis?" He asked the serpent, who nodded and wrapped around his neck, shifting briefly into a living amulet.


	4. Scary Serpents and Strange Students

Years had passed since Jaune had become Wekono's Chosen, taking on the nickname of Mal'Damba, in honor of his hero. He had gotten very good at being a voodoo master and supreme at black magic, so much so that he could do it as simply as breathing.

After the years of self practice and the fact that he had beaten quite a bit of older, more experienced Huntsmen and Huntresses, he was finally allowed to attend Beacon Academy. Granted, Headmaster Ozpin thought that the abilities the young man possessed were extraordinary, and would love to be the one who trained a voodoo master. Though, Jaune and Apophis couldn't help but feel like the silver haired man was wanting him there for something else…

The one thing he, and his familiar, weren't used to was the transportation they had to use to get to Beacon Academy.

Bullheads.

Well, Jaune, being used to Bullheads, yet still not liking them, was okay with them. His snake, however, was freighted by flying. And, because of the familial bond, Jaune felt what his snake was feeling. At that moment in time, when they were halfway from Vale to Beacon Academy, Jaune felt fear and something he hadn't felt in years. Motion sickness.

He was so tempted to just smash one of his Gourds into the ground, just to make himself and his familiar feel better.

He sighed, running his hands down his snake's under belly in slow, soothing motions to calm the serpent down, thinking to himself that he should add some anti-sickness runes onto his outfit.

* * *

When Jaune, and the rest of the students, arrived at the docks that were on Beacon Cliffs, Jaune ran out. Not because of sickness, no. No, it was because his familiar had taken to snapping at him and trying to bite him after he tried to sooth it. He dropped it in a panic as people watched, some laughing. It proceeded to chase him all around the Bullhead.

It was quite the sight, see a young man run from a pissed off cobra.

* * *

Jaune had finally calmed down his familiar, promising double mice for a month in order to come out unscathed.

He sighed slightly, just in time to hear an explosion. He put his mask on and let his - slowly calming down - familiar slither up his leg, wrapping partly around his waist while the rest wrapped around his right arm before moving quickly to the cause of the explosion.

There he saw two female students, a young woman in red and black, who seemed no older than fifteen - though Jaune sensed there was something in her that was nearly as old as magic - and another young woman in white and blue, slightly older than the woman in red and black.

He faintly heard Red say she was sorry over and over, before calling White 'Princess' when she got irritated. He visibly saw White bristle in anger at that, and was about to say something, no doubt rude, when a girl in black came up to them.

Jaune could sense vaguely that Black was similar to the other two, more so with Red in some way, but with White in the way they were the same age. He heard Black explain that White was in fact an Heiress, to the Schnee Dust Company. The now named Weiss seemed happy at the girl who recognized her, before scowling at Black when she insulted her family company in one breath.

Red said something about making it up to Weiss as she stormed away, before turning to Black, to thank her, only to see her walking away with a sway in her hips. Jaune didn't stare, she wasn't his type. Red, however, did. She then fell to the ground, mumbling dejectedly about 'Welcome to Beacon'

Jaune decided to go over and help… forgetting he had his intimidating mask on.

* * *

Ruby Rose was having a pretty good day… until her sister abandoned her on the Cliffs, she fell on some crabby girl's luggage, said crabby girl nagged her, she sneezed and exploded, and a black themed beauty came to her rescue. From there, it got slightly better, before it got worse. She hated to see Black leave, but loved to see her go. White left in anger. Then she fell onto her knees, then back, muttering to herself "Welcome to Beacon"

Then, after her eyes closed to block out the harsh sunlight, she furrowed her brow when a shadow was cast over her. Opening her eyes, she yelps when she sees the broad, wooden mask that is similar to a serpent.

She goes to scramble away from the frightening masked man, who raised his greyed hands, in a term of surrender. Quickly, the man pulled his mask off, showing a young man, who's face was darkened to a grey as well from his once, slightly tannish skin.

His long, mid-back length blond hair tumbled down from where it was held in his mask, the ponytail it was in keeping it in place. It was long and sorta messy, but added to his slightly rugged look. He had some blond stubble going for him, covering his chin, cheeks, upper lip and a bit of his neck. All in all, he looked wild, feral in a way, with the slightly dirty skin, long, tangled hair in a ponytail, and stubble.

He smiled at her, a lopsided grin and spoke in his slow raspy tone. "Sorry deeply, young lass. It was never my intention to… terrify you"

"O-Oh! It's fine! Your mask is just a bit… creepy" he nodded in understanding before he smiled and offered his hand to her. She took it with a smile and let him help her up. She then snorted and covered her mouth when she recognized the clothing.

"Aren't you the one who was being chased by a snake?"

* * *

After a while, they finally made it to the auditorium, of which a tall blonde young woman called over to Ruby, and Jaune could see that they were together, most likely siblings. He smiled as he looked around, absentmindedly petting the hood of the cobra wrapped around his wrist.

'This is going to be an interesting year'


	5. Initiation and Teams

Jaune Arc hummed softly as he spelled his hair into an impromptu high ponytail - without a tie to keep it in place - before setting his mask on the top of his head so he can easily slide it down when need be. He listened absent-mindedly as he waits, observing the area around him.

They were on the top of Beacon Cliffs, overlooking the Emerald Forest. Below their feet were light grey, metallic square pads, which were obviously some type of launching mechanism. He understood what Ozpin and Goodwitch were saying - going to be launched into the forest full of monsters, first person you make eye contact with is your partner, go to the temple ruins to the North, grab a relic and head back for team assignments.

Finally, one by one, the students were launched into the air and towards the forest. Jaune simply grins, his teeth slightly sharpened due to being Wekono's Chosen. He slides his mask over his face, the gems on his mask and chest glowing softly as he does. He then grins wider as he's launched through the air, hoping Apophis will stay calm.

* * *

As Jaune neared the tree line, he noticed a tree branch sticking out, thicker than the rest. With a thought, he became a light blue blur as he moved through the air, like some sort of snake, with faint laughter and drumbeat echoing from nowhere following. When he became normal again, he was standing in the tree, crouched a bit as he observed the area. He then proceeded to 'slither' down to the ground, going from branch to branch as he did. When he landed on the ground, he smiled. He was in a clearing and it seemed like he was the only thing there, besides his familiar.

He looked around, smiling under his mask as he did so. "Seems as if this is going to be pretty smooth" he said in his raspy voice. Of course, Murphy's Law came into play as what seemed like hundreds of Grimm eyes appeared in the shadows of the clearing. He grinned and grabbed the gourd from his belt and threw it to the Grimm. The clay pottery shattered on one of the Grimm as the potion splattered on the ones around it, acting like a sort of acid to them. They howled and whimpered in pain as it slowly killed them. He grinned and muttered to himself, "Ah… the first of many~" he seemed to purr.

Jaune took this distraction to try to attack. Problem is, Jaune didn't have a weapon. All of a sudden, a glob of green liquid flew towards the Grimm, slamming into the side of one of the beasts and knocking it down. He looked down at Apophis, grinning down at her as she grinned back. He kept firing glob after glob of venom at the creatures of darkness, killing one after another.

An Alpha came and tried to pounce on him. He, however, was prepared and 'slithered' forwards, barely avoiding the massive claws. He stroked the hood of his snake, as she seemed agitated, his fingers ghosting over the scales as it hissed in contentment. When he was done, she pushed itself forwards, and what looked like a phantom version of Apophis flew forwards and hit the Alpha, cracking the thick armor on it's chest. Seeing it wounded, he took this opportunity and fired another glob of venom at the monster. It burned through its chest and killed it slowly.

Panting slightly at the slight exertion, Jaune smiled from under his mask. He looked down at his familiar. "Can you… teach me how to spit venom? Eh?" He chuckled a bit before moving on.

* * *

He looked around at the other initiates around him as the two massive Grimm came at them. He grinned a bit. "Ah! The spirits join us!" He said as he raises a hand, some sort of white energy gathering, before he thrusts it forwards. It flows like water through the air, connecting to all of his new allies, giving their Aura a big boost, causing it to go into a sort of… overdrive. With this, they charged into the fray.

* * *

Jaune threw a Gourd, bigger than the rest, as hard as he could, at the Nevermore. Afterwards, he caressed his familiar, tossing the phantom snake at the Nevermore as well. The Gourd hit one of the wings, burning it away like acid, while the phantom cobra slammed into the other wing, breaking it while tearing a hole in it. He grins as the giant bird monster fell. He chuckled darkly, grinning under his mask. "Seems I've clipped your wings" he said as he moved to the others, as four of the women killed the Nevermore by decapitating it via slingshot reaper scythe.

* * *

Jaune stood, one arm, his left, behind his back while he held Apophis around his right, the snake swaying a bit. He looked to the snake with a smile, his mask by his side as he waited for his team to be assigned. "Jaune Arc, Pyrrha Nikos, Nora Valkyrie, Lie Ren. You for collected the White Rook pieces. From this point forwards, you will be known as Team JNPR, led by… Jaune Arc"

He smiled as he bowed a bit with his arms splayed in front of him, Apophis swaying slightly from side to side as he does, happy that he can prove himself.


	6. Savior

It had been only the first official day of Beacon Academy. Well, the first day of classes. It went smoothly. Jaune scared people, fascinated people, beat people, lost to people. All in all, a good day. That is, until Port's classroom. Jaune had obviously raised his hand before Weiss, but, do to his silent, and slightly creepy nature, Port didn't pick him, unlike Weiss' loud proclamation that she wanted to prove herself.

He scowled a bit, his dark skin, sunken cheeks and dull eyes terrifying people around him. They thought he was going to curse Weiss. But, in fact, he was just sulking that his voice couldn't carry well, and that he probably wouldn't be able to volunteer for anything.

He was snapped from his sad mood when he heard Weiss snap at Ruby, before the sound of metal bending was heard through the class.

* * *

Jaune raised his head, seeing that Myrtenaster had been bent to the point that it was no longer straight, but was at a right angle. Looking to the Grimm, Jaune was shocked to see that it wasn't a Borbatusk, like what he assumed, but it was, in fact, an Ursa Minor. Jaune quickly put on his mask - never going anywhere without it. His armor was, in fact, under his uniform. He let Apophis slither up his arm as he stood, while the others stood in shock and horror as the Minor raised its paw to end Weiss' life. She flinched hard, eyes squeezing shut in absolute terror.

In a moment of quick thinking, Jaune jumped onto his desk and used it as a springboard, 'slithering' in midair, traveling through the air as a blue blur as he did. When he came out of his intangible state, he immediately grabbed a Gourd from his belt and threw it onto the back of the Minor's head with a shout of "Wither!"

The Minor roared in pain as the healing substance instead burned away at the beast's flesh and bone. Still in midair - though starting to come down - Jaune flipped and made sure to land on his feet in front of Weiss. He glared up at the Minor, the emerald eyes of his mask glowing slightly in the shadow. To the audience, some wisps of green energy flowed from the sides of his eyes.

It growled at him, its face half-melted as the effects wore off. Jaune hissed at the beast, as well as Apophis, her hood splayed out in a threatening manner. "Suffer…" Jaune said during his hiss, his low, gravely voice making it come out as a menacing threat.

The beast swung at Jaune, who simply leaped backwards, doing a back handspring with one hand, firing a couple of globs as he did. When he was transferring from his hand to his feet again, Jaune 'reloaded' Apophis, stroking her hood lovingly. He grinned as he saw more of the Minor burned away from the venom alone. He tossed the astral projection of his familiar at the Darkness, it tearing through it completely. The Minor stopped and fell to it's knees, before falling to the floor, belly first, dead. It slowly started to disintegrate.

Panting a bit at the loss of energy - though small - it took to flip and dodge the Minor so quickly, Jaune took off his mask, Apophis wrapped around his waist. He turned to Weiss and smiled, offering his bony hand to hers as a gesture of good faith. She scowled, though, and batted it aside before storming out of the class.


End file.
